Kubb Life Interview

Kubb Life is a kubb club that was founded in 2016 that is based in Germantown, Wisconsin. Kubb On interviewed Jeff Merryfield of Kubb Life about how the club and their leagues are going so far and how they hope to grow the Kubb Life lifestyle in the greater Milwaukee area.

How did you learn about Kubb?

Courtesy of Jeff Merryfield

Of the four founders of Kubb Life, Derek was the first to learn about kubb. He was invited to take part in a local tournament in the Milwaukee area with the Norman’s All-Stars Group during the Fall of 2014. Having played for the first time and being successful in that tournament, Derek taught Alan, Kyle, and myself (Jeff) how to play in the spring of 2015 at a family gathering. We haven’t stopped playing since.

At what point did this turn into more than just a game for you?

I think it became more than just a game the moment we signed up for a tournament in the spring of 2015. We are all pretty athletic people in general, and competitive, so we actively spent hours practicing whenever we could, in all weather conditions, playing during the day, playing at night—trying to get better. We scoured the Internet and YouTube videos learning the rules and finding which techniques worked best to be competitive enough to win. We logged hundreds and hundreds of games in the spring and summer of 2015 trying to become better kubb players.

When and how did Kubb Life come about?

The idea of Kubb Life was a work in progress over the spring/summer of 2016. Having played at the U.S. National Kubb Championship for the first time in July of 2016, we saw how many kubb clubs were out there from so many different parts of the state and even all over the country. There really weren’t a lot of kubb clubs that we knew of publicly in the greater Milwaukee area and we wanted to change that. We saw the flags, the banners, and the websites promoting kubb. We wanted to be a part of that.

Courtesy of Jeff Merryfield

What’s the story behind the name Kubb Life?

We wanted to come up with a name that encapsulated the four of us and love for the game of Kubb. We mulled over several names and ideas and really, over that past two to three years, kubb hasn’t been just a game, it’s become more of a lifestyle for us. We have a slogan that we like to use which pretty much sums up what we are all about: Kubb Daily. Kubb Nightly. Kubb Life! We are all living the Kubb Life, are we not?

What are the main objectives behind Kubb Life?

We are always teaching, promoting, playing, and talking about Kubb. The Kubb community is filled with so many great people and we want to expand that exponentially. There is a large market of people out there that have never played before or have never heard of Kubb. We want to get more people involved in playing and learning about the game.

Have you expanded your group or have you invited others to join since your inception?

Courtesy of Jeff Merryfield

Yes! We’ve met so many people over the past couple years and we have several friends and family members that truly love playing—some of which are becoming great advocates of the game by teaching and spreading the word to others. We recently added a new member to our group, Steve, and we know he’ll be a wonderful asset to our cause and a great ambassador for the game.

You just completed your second season of league play, how has the league been so far and what are your hopes for the league going into the fall season

The Kubb Life league has been outstanding! Fall of 2016 was our inaugural season and we had eight teams participate. The league was made up of mostly friends and family that we knew enjoyed playing. Our spring 2017 session grew to 10 teams and we branched out a bit more by adding five teams from outside our friends/family network—some of which had never played kubb in their lives. Our upcoming season in the fall of 2017, we are projecting further growth and expecting anywhere from 16 to 20 teams. We are looking forward to getting back out there!

Courtesy of Jeff Merryfield

Can you tell us more about your league and how we can sign up?

The Fall Kubb Life League begins on Tuesday, Sept. 5 and will run for eight weeks. Matches start at 6:30 p.m. and last one hour. You are guaranteed three games during your weekly matches. Matches are played at Pioneer Bowl located in Richfield, Wisconsin, which is roughly five to 10 minutes northwest of Milwaukee. All skill levels are welcome! If you live in the greater Milwaukee area and you would like to meet some great people and play kubb one night a week, visit our website: www.kubblife.com/leagueinfo

What are your long term goals/objectives for the future? (Where would you like to see Kubb Life in a few years?)

Growth! We strive to promote the game to as many people as possible. Kubb isn’t just a game, it’s become a lifestyle for all of us. It is our mission to spread the joy of kubb to a diverse population while creating positive life experiences and friendships that will enhance our communities. We would love our league to be one of the largest leagues in existence in North America. We keep living the Kubb Life every day!

About The Author

Kyle was first introduced to kubb in 2013 and has been playing competitive kubb since 2015. He is a co-founder of the Burning River Kubb Club and Kubb On. Outside of playing and spreading the great game of kubb, Kyle works as an athletics video coordinator.